Ingredients
1.5 kg dried mixed fruit
½ cup dark rum, plus extra ¼ cup
2 tsp finely grated orange rind
¾ cup orange juice
375 g unsalted butter, chopped, room temperature
1 ½ cups brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
6 free-range eggs
2 ½ cups plain flour
3 tsp mixed spice
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
¾ tsp baking powder
To decorate
2 x 250 g packets ready-to-roll marzipan
2 Tbsp apricot jam, warmed, strained
600 g packet ready-to-roll white icing
rainbow sprinkles to decorate
Method
- Combine fruit, rum, rind and juice in a large bowl. Stand, covered, overnight.
- Grease a medium roasting pan (23cm x 33cm x 6cm deep). Line base and sides with four layers of baking paper, extending paper 5cm above pan edges.
- Beat butter, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl of an electric mixer until combined. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until just combined. Mixture may look curdled at this stage. Stir into fruit mixture.
- Add combined sifted flour, spice, cinnamon and baking powder. Mix well. Spoon into prepared pan. Smooth over top.
- Cook in a slow oven (150C) for about 2 hours, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cover loosely with foil during cooking if top starts to over-brown.
- Remove from oven. Brush extra rum over hot cake. Cover with foil. Wrap cake in pan in a clean tea towel. Cool completely.
- To decorate, invert cake onto a chopping board. Knead marzipan on a clean bench until smooth. Roll out between two sheets of baking paper until large enough to cover top of cake
- Brush half the jam over top of cake. Lift on marzipan. Smooth over top to push out any air bubbles trapped underneath. Trim edge.
- Repeat process with remaining jam and fondant. Using Christmas cutters (about 5cm), mark fondant, without cutting all the way through as pictured. Press in cachous to decorate.
- Using a large serrated knife, cut cake into portions.
